


Tabula Rasa

by Petrichora_Vellichor



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Doctor!Dean, M/M, Patient!Cas, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 12:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19425670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petrichora_Vellichor/pseuds/Petrichora_Vellichor
Summary: Inspired by a prompt: Every emotion a human feels becomes written on their body. One day someone is found with blank skin.In all his years practicing medicine, Dean had never seen a case quite like this.





	Tabula Rasa

**Author's Note:**

> **tabula rasa** _(noun)_ the mind in its hypothetical primary blank or empty state before receiving outside impressions

In all his years practicing medicine, Dean had never seen a case quite like this. The dark-haired man lying in the hospital bed was watching him with wary blue eyes that Dean could feel scrutinizing the words on his face. _Empathy. Compassion._ Those two, the former under Dean’s right eye and the latter prominent along his left jawline, were among his most-complimented features, with many telling him how lucky he was to have such positive emotions in such a prominent place on his body. Dean knew perfectly well that _lucky_ was the operative word: he’d met more than one person whose face bore marks of _Fear_ or _Anger_ or _Shame_. There were countless theories about why the Words appeared where they did, and while the general consensus was that the larger the Word, the more frequent the emotion, no one had yet proven any correlation between a Word and its location on someone’s body. They were just things that everyone had, and they could appear anywhere.

Except, it seemed, on the blue-eyed man in front of him.

He’d been found the previous night, lying unconscious on the side of the road. Between his arrival at the hospital and the time he’d opened his eyes ten minutes ago, the staff had been stunned to discover that his skin was entirely blank: there wasn’t a single Word anywhere on his body. He was a mystery, an anomaly. Or, Dean supposed, a miracle, although he instantly chided himself for the thought.

He cleared his throat. “Hey there. My name is Dr. Winchester, and I’m going to be taking care of you from here on out.”

The man continued to watch him in silence.

_Huh. Okay, tough customer._ Dean gave the man a warm smile and gestured at the empty chair by the bed. “Mind if I sit?”

The man’s eyes flickered over to the chair and back to Dean, and after a moment, he tilted his head toward the chair.

Dean took a single step forward and, when the man made no sign of objection, walked over and sat down. “There, that’s better. So, you got a name?”

Slowly, the man nodded.

_Note to self: be more specific._ Dean tried again. “What’s your name?”

The man was silent, his expression serious as though he was trying to read Dean’s thoughts. Then, just when Dean thought he wouldn’t get an answer, the man spoke: “Castiel.”

Dean smiled. _Now we’re talking. Literally._ He held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Castiel.”

Castiel stared at Dean’s hand for several seconds, and Dean was about to lower it, thinking that perhaps Castiel had an aversion to touch, when a flicker on the man’s cheek caught his attention. 

Dean sucked in a breath. The Word was small and faint, but it was there.

_Trust._

Slowly, carefully, Castiel reached up and took Dean’s hand.

**Author's Note:**

> An infinity of thanks to the talented midnightsilver, who made [this INCREDIBLE art](https://midnightsilver.tumblr.com/post/185955057680/my-artwork-today-was-inspired-by-the-lovely-short) for my lil story. 😍
> 
> Come say hi over on [Tumblr](https://petrichoravellichor.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
